


Again

by impravidus



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adult Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Alternate Universe - Future, Depressed Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, F/M, Hawkmoth Defeat, Past, Time Travel, adrienette - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-16 19:38:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16501484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impravidus/pseuds/impravidus
Summary: After the devastating loss of everything that made Adrien the man he was following the defeat of Hawkmoth, he lives a life he never imagined for himself. When he finds the miraculous and makes a wish to send him back, he gets a second chance. He gets to try Again.





	1. The Future

Adrien Agreste had many things. He had a loving girlfriend whom he loved very much. He had a steady occupation at the young age of 18, a job that gave him fame across all of France. He had the best of friends that were always there to support him. He had superpowers which he used to save Paris. He had a father who, though busy most of the time, did truly care for him.

The key word being, had. 

So the question is, who was Adrien Agreste now? 

Adrien Agreste was an unhappy man. His blonde hair long and disheveled, his stubble coming near to a scraggly beard, and his eyes with permanent dark circles under them. His lips were always chapped, his eyes were dry, and his hands were always longing for the petite hand he missed so dearly. He was miserable.

He sat in his room of his small apartment, secluded from the world, his eyes not being able to conjure up tears anymore as he stared down at the old photographs in the scrapbooks that Marinette had once made him. He ran his finger over the picture of what had been the evening he had asked her to be his girlfriend. The twinkling lights lining the cafe shining against the pitch black night, the luminous glow of the moon reflecting off of the glass tables and her blue-black hair. It was a profile photo of Marinette, as she looked off into the night, admiring the shooting star that happened to be shooting past that night. It was the perfect photo.

However, it wasn’t a perfect night.

Marinette had ordered something new for a change instead of her usual bisque, a new item on the menu. It was a seafood stew. Marinette figured it would be just another soup, but in this stew were mussels, shrimp, calamari, clams, and salmon. Of these delicacies, the calamari had been full, tiny octopus arms. As Adrien tried to gain the confidence to ask her his big question, she took a big bite of thick, opaque, tomato broth which covered the calamari. With one bite into it, she spit the tentacle onto the table in shock. Adrien, mouth agape, held in his laughter as her face turned beet red with shock.

Adrien smiled sadly as he stared at the picture, reminiscing about his past. As he put the scrapbook away, he noticed a box pushed far back on the top shelf of his closet. Grabbing a chair to get more height, he pulled it out, curious. 

Sitting back on the edge of his unmade bed, he looked at this unfamiliar shoebox. For the first time in the six years that he had been living in this hovel of an apartment, he hadn’t seen this box. He recognized the top, but was unaware of what he would be opening up. The memories he didn’t want.

The first thing that greeted him when he opened it up, there were numerous newspaper articles.

“Gabriel Agreste: Hawkmoth Scandal”

“Ladybug’s Identity Revealed?”

“Ladybug Deceased In Hawkmoth’s Final Battle”

Adrien took a sharp breath and read this article.

“Daughter of patisserie owners, Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, unmasked as Paris’ heroine, Ladybug, is now confirmed deceased. In the fight against Hawkmoth, she had been fatally stabbed in the heart by Hawkmoth himself. Chat Noir finished the fight, uncovering the shadowy terrorist of Paris to be famous designer, Gabriel Agreste. Unable to transform back into Hawkmoth, Gabriel was taken by Paris police, along with his accomplice, Nathalie Sancoeur, to serve a life sentence. Without Ladybug’s restoring powers, Paris is left in shambles. Many beloved shops such as Tom and Sabine’s Boulangerie Patisserie, Wang Fu’s Massage Shop...”

Adrien crumbled up the paper in anger.

There was nothing he could do when Paris fell apart. He couldn’t use Ladybug’s Miraculous, he couldn’t save Master Fu or the other Miraculous, he couldn’t save Marinette’s parents, and couldn’t even save Nino from the akumatized destruction. Then, he was barely an adult with no parents, no friends, and just the money from his modeling gig that he had been saving. The real fortune still belonged to his incarcerated father. Now he’s an uneducated, ex-model, son of a terrorist, drunk. 

“Fuck!” He threw the box across the room, not able to handle looking at it anymore. Suddenly, the shiny silver caught his eye. On the floor lay his and Marinette’s old Miraculous. Picking up the ring and earrings, he held the tiny yet powerful items in his hand. He sighed.

“I wish I could just redo everything and save her.”

The Miraculous began to glow and swirled around him, a tornado of light surrounding him. Then, suddenly, all went black.


	2. Back

Through the overwhelming darkness, the tinny shrill beep of an alarm clock began to fade in.

Adrien groaned as he sat up, turning off the alarm. He was groggy and his head was pounding. “Another killer hangover. Great.” He got out of bed, but his eyes widened as he realized that he was definitely not in his apartment. Where was he? Alarmed, he looked around and realized that he was in his childhood bedroom. But, why?

“What’s wrong with you, kid?”

Adrien jumped at the voice. A voice he hadn’t heard in a long, long time. Plastering on a facade of cheer, he turned to the kwami. “Plagg! Good morning. I must’ve gotten up too quick. Really hurt my head.” Adrien had become the master of lies and deception, but Plagg could tell something was wrong. Probably because this wasn’t his Adrien. This Adrien’s eyes didn’t have hope like his did. This Adrien had seen too much.

“Whatever you say.” Plagg seemed like he wanted to say more, but Nathalie abruptly opened the door, prompting Plagg to shoot under Adrien’s bed.

“Good, you’re awake. I had thought I would have to come and wake you. You have your morning exercise in ten minutes. Be dressed and ready for breakfast in three.”

“Yes, Nathalie. I will be right there,” Adrien responded. As she left his room, he grimaced. Nathalie, the woman who helped his father tear apart Paris piece by piece. The woman who deceived him right under his nose for years. He took a deep breath and began to get dressed.

“Seriously, kid. Are you alright?”

Adrien clenched his jaw, but put on a fake smile. “Of course. What could possibly be wrong?”

 

As Adrien came back from his run on the treadmill, his father passed him in the hallway.

“Good morning, Adrien. How was your jog?"

Adrien tensed. Ignoring the screaming inside his mind, he found the polite and kind words his father expected from him. ‘Good morning, Father. It was excellent. I went an extra five minutes today, since I ate another banana at breakfast.”

His father nodded in approval. “Good. Now, get in the shower and get ready for school.”

Adrien lowered his head and bit the inside of his mouth, a nervous tic he had acquired over the years. “Yes, Father”

Gabriel went his way past Adrien, while the now fifteen year old boy took a long deep breath as he headed back to his room.

 

He stared into the mirror for a long time. He was so… young. His hair was soft, not greasy. His eyes were just… clear. Clear of that puffiness and sleep-deprivation. He didn’t have a beer gut, and he didn’t have the bruised knuckles from punching walls, and he didn’t have the scars running down his arms. He was young. He was starting over.

He put on that black shirt that he used to always love and a white short sleeved button up with jeans. It made him feel different. He hadn’t worn jeans in years. He just wore sweats all day every day, because there was no one he was trying to impress. There was no one who cared enough for him to make him change. But now it’s different. He had friends. He had…

Marinette.

He almost forgot about her. How could he forget about the love of his life? In a rush, Adrien turned to his kwami.

“Plagg! Where is my bookbag?”

Plagg looked at him strangely. “It’s at your desk… where it… always is?”

Adrien grabbed it quickly and opened the top zipper, brushing Plagg into his bag, and hurrying downstairs to the limo.

He was going to see her.

 

Adrien hurried out of the car, tripping up the steps and hitting his head against the cement.

“Oh my gosh! Adrien!” That voice. That voice. His eyes wide, he looked up and saw her. A smile took over his face. A genuine smile. Something that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Marinette,” he breathed out. She looked really worried.

“A-are yo-ou alred I mean redright I’m mean alright? Wow that’s a lot of blood.” Adrien touched his head. She was right. He was bleeding a lot. And even though he was getting very dizzy, and the world was getting really fuzzy, all he could focus on was her...


	3. Her

Opening his eyes, Adrien tried to figure out where he was through his blurry vision.

“Marinette?” He asked, his throat dry.

“Nope. Just me.” He looked up. It was the school nurse. “You hit your head pretty hard, Adrien. How are you feeling?”

He groaned sitting up. “I feel really, I feel…” He realized if he said otherwise, he’d have to go home, so he mustered all the energy he had and smiled. “I feel fine! I think I can just go to class.”

Wary, the nurse turned to write him a pass. “Well, I bandaged your head wound. Just don’t mess with it or hit it again, or you might have to get stitches, and I think we both know that you can’t get away with getting stitches on your face. So just leave it alone, and it should heal naturally with barely a scar.”

Adrien nodded. “And I can go to class now?” he asked, eager.

She smiled, handing him a pass. “Go ahead.”

 

Adrien was beyond giddy going to class, despite the pounding in his head. As he entered, he was greeted by the shrill voice of who was just a flattering memory, but now a current annoyance, Chloe Bourgeois.

“Adrikins! What happened to your beautiful face?!”

Madame Bustier, shushed Chloe. “Chloe, please sit down. I am in the middle of a lesson! Adrien, please sit down. You can catch up with Nino’s notes.”

As Adrien sat down, he couldn’t help but stare at Nino. There he was. Alive and well, and writing down his notes like it was a normal day. Well, it was a normal day for him. “Hi Nino,” Adrien whispered.

“Uh… hey dude. I heard about what happened. You doing okay?” Adrien smiled widely.

“Couldn’t be better.”

 

Class went on as he remembered it, but all he could focus on was how different everything was to how he remembered it to be. He remembered that everything was so exciting, so happy, so filled with new information and freedom from his father. But class was boring. It was boring compared to all the things he could be doing as Chat or doing with Marinette, or doing as Chat with Marinette.

As class ended, he saw Marinette talking with Alya. Rushing to them, he stopped. What was he supposed to say? “Uh hey Marinette, so I know we hardly talk but I’m in love with you and I’m here from the future to save you from Hawkmoth who happens to be my dad?” No. He couldn’t burden her with that. Then he realized what was his only choice. To start over with her too.

“Marinette!” She turned to face him. Wow. How was she so beautiful?

“Oh hi Adrien! Head your hows? I mean your head how is it?” She cringed as she stumbled over her words.

“O-oh, my head? It’s… it’s completely fine. The nurse said everything will be fine. What are you doing this Saturday?”

Marinette, taken aback, stuttered out a “what?”

Adrien took a nervous breath. “This Saturday. Are you free?”

Marinette turned a bright shade of red. “Uh I mean I’d have to check my schedule because who knows I mean life always comes up and you never know what life will bring you know, lemons and…”

Alya covered her mouth. “She is free on Saturday.”

Adrien nodded, excited. “Would you like to get together? You know, pretend to work on homework so Father doesn’t ask any questions, but really watch a movie or something in my room?”

Marinette speechless, nodded her head. “Great! I’ll see you Saturday.”

As Adrien walked casually away, rejoicing inside, Marinette turned to her best friend, flabbergasted. Alya nudged her.

“Girl, is there something you’re not telling me? When did you and Adrien suddenly have a thing?”

Marinette blushed as she whisper yelled in response, “we are not a-a-a thing! We weren’t the last time I checked, at least. What is going on?!”

Alya chuckled. “I’ve got no idea, but he really is into you. Did you see the way he looked at you?”

Marinette squeaked. “He did not look at me any certain way! That’s just…. that’s just Adrien being Adrien! He’s being nice because we’re friends. Right? He always is reminding me that. Friends.”

Alya gave her a look that she could only interpret as “girl, really?” “Just a friend doesn’t look at someone like that, Mari.”

Marinette, desperate to finish this conversation, turned towards the screams coming from down the street. Alya turned to her, excited. “An akuma attack! I’ll see you later, Mari. Gotta get the scoop for the Ladyblog.” Alya ran away quickly while Marinette went behind a bush.

“You know the drill. Tikki, spots on!”

 

Adrien hadn’t been Chat Noir in a long time. It was an unfamiliar feeling, the skintight leather against his now slender and fit body. The tightest thing he had worn in the last six years was a too small shirt when he had run out of loose graphic tees because he didn’t want to go out and get his laundry done at the laundromat.

As he ran, he had to get back into the momentum and carefree ease that Chat Noir was supposed to have. Instead, he was gawky and awkward and unsure of every move. Unlike riding a bike, this was not secondhand nature. He let these memories go the moment he lost the life he once had.

This akuma was an easy one to defeat. Ladybug did most of the fighting and passed over the akumatized purse for Chat to use his cataclysm on. It was routine. It was simple.

Adrien didn’t remember them being this easy. Maybe because as the years went on, Hawkmoth went harder and harder with the akumas, waiting longer between the attacks so they’d be stronger. The fights would take hours and they’d have to detransform at least three times to recharge their kwamis. More people got hurt in the fights. The weight of people’s deaths were on the shoulders of him and Marinette. Her Miraculous Ladybug could restore many things, but not real lives. They were too long gone to save.

“Chat, is everything okay? You seem… really…” Ladybug couldn’t quite place what Chat was feeling. He just seemed really sad. He looked to her, his eyes glossy but bright.

“You know I love you, right?

Ladybug laughed. “You never stop telling me, silly kitty.”

He frowned, and grabbed her hands. “No, really, Ladybug. I don’t mean it like I want to marry you, I don’t mean it like I want you to say it back, I’m saying I love you because I really don’t know what I’d do without you. You mean the world to me, and you’ve always been here for me. You have always supported me, and I truly appreciate all you’ve done for and with me. You’re my partner. You’re my backbone. You have always known what to do and when to do it. You are so so special. Do you know that? You are beautiful, and kind, and intelligent. You may be fearless out here, but I know you have your fears, but you can overcome them if you just believe in yourself. You can do anything you want to do and nothing is stopping you except yourself and your own doubts. You could do whatever you wished in this world if you just trusted yourself.” Marinette was speechless. Her earrings beeped their last warning.

“This isn’t over Chat, okay?”

He just nodded and smiled as she used her yoyo to propel her into the sky. He held his breath for one last moment before heading into an alley to transform back.


	4. Sandboy

“Really, kid, I knew you were a sap about Ladybug, but that? That was so sweet it could rot out your teeth!” Plagg exclaimed, munching on a wheel of camembert.

“Whatever you say, Plagg,” he responded, not looking up from his homework. Was homework always this bad? He hasn’t done it in so long. And it doesn’t help that they’re on topics he doesn’t remember learning.

“What’s with you all of a sudden? First you go for that girl in your class, and now Ladybug?”

Adrien shook his head. “There’s nothing going on, Plagg. I just realized it’s time I do something about the way I feel.”

Plagg gave him an unbelieving look, but gave up.

 

After a couple hours of Adrien boringly doing his homework, Plagg yawned, over-exaggerated.

“I am exhausted. I'm off to bed.”

Adrien nodded. “Good night, Plagg.”

Plagg hummed as he pulled a sock-puppet of himself from behind the pillow and left through the wall unbeknownst to Adrien. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair.

“What’s wrong, kitty? Thinking about me?” Adrien slowly spun in his chair, turning to see Marinette sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Marinette,” he breathed. “What are you doing here?”

She scoffed. “Why do you think I’m here, Adrien? I’m here because you left me.”

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? I…”

“You left me lying there, bleeding out. Did you even try to save me? Did you?”

“I… I did! Of course I did! But he was going to kill everyone else if I didn’t do something. You… you know that.”

She ignored his response. “Did you even love me?”

“I… Of course I did! I do! How can you ask me that?”

She paused. “Well that’s a shame. Because I’ve never loved you.”

He took a sharp breath. Only now did he notice that during this conversation, a wound through her heart was slowly growing as she bled out. “No. No! Don’t do you fucking dare do this to me again, Marinette.”

Her eyes were welling up with tears, beginning to recite her last words to him. “Chat… keep going. Do it for me. You may have been an obnoxious, punny, flirt, but I have always loved…”

Adrien was beginning to tear up, seeing what had become so blurred and twisted in his memory, crystal clear in front of him. He ran to her, holding her. “Shit. Don’t do this. Not again. Please.” He cried and sobbed for a little longer before realizing something. This couldn’t really be happening. How could it be happening? This isn’t a dream and this certainly isn’t a hallucination.

“Plagg?” He called out. No response. He went over to the pillow, and found a sock version of Plagg. “The hell?” He ran through his memory trying to remember when this was. Suddenly, outside his window, he saw it. There, floating on a pillow through the sky, was an akuma chanting “The Sandboy just checked in. Now nightmares can begin.”

“Great.” Adrien knew this was the one night that Plagg was gone. He would have to sneak out and get to Master Fu’s as quickly as possible, which will be quite difficult considering he couldn’t just Chat Noir out of his window.

Adrien snuck around the mansion, a sweatshirt and jeans on, trying to get out the door without his father or Nathalie noticing. He heard a scream come from the other side of the mansion. Nathalie’s scream. He smiled to himself, thankful to know that she is occupied at the moment. Once he quietly shut the large front door of the mansion, he began to sprint to the massage parlor, avoiding the akuma nightmare creations.

Opening the door, he saw the old man laying on the floor, deep in his slumber. Adrien softly tip-toed his way across the room, beginning to type in the code to the Miraculous box, when three ghosts appeared.

“Shit,” he muttered. He kneeled down to get closer to the dreaming elder on the ground, and lightly shook him. “Master Fu! Wake up. You’ve got to wake up right now!” The man jolted up, confused.

“Chat Noir? How did you…”

“We don’t have the time, Master Fu," Adrien interjected. "There’s an akuma out right now, bringing nightmares to life, and you’re in danger. I would transform but Plagg…”

The ghosts came over to them. “Fu! We are the ghosts of The Order of The Guardians of The Miraculous. You caused our downfall and lost two Miraculous!”

Master Fu shuddered in fear. “It was not my fault. I did not do it on purpose.”

The ghosts of the guardians closed in on the old man. “Yes, it was your fault. Your fault! Your fault! Your fault!”

Master Fu turned to Adrien. “Chat Noir, transform!”

Adrien cringed. “I can’t. Plagg is in the Miraculous box for Nooroo’s birthday.”

There was a knocking at the door. Master Fu, worried, turned to Adrien. “You need to hide.”

Adrien shot him a confused glance. “Why?”

The old man pushed him behind the jakun honey shoji room divider. “Stay here and be quiet!” He whispered and went back to the door to let Marinette in. “Marinette! Thank goodness you are here.”

“Master Fu! There is an akuma out but Tikki is…” Adrien overheard her concerned voice exclaim.

“Inside the Miraculous box. I know. But there’s no way of communicating with the kwamis when their magic world.”

Suddenly, Adrien heard something kick in the door. He jumped behind the room divider, but kept quiet. He then heard… his own voice?

“I’m in love with a girl and her name is Chloe!” Confused, he peaked out from behind his hiding spot, and saw a sinister version of himself, crawling on the floor. Was that really Marinette’s nightmare? Him?

After a long amount of antics of Marinette hitting Nightmaredrien with a pillow and Master Fu running from his ghosts, Tikki and Plagg finally emerged from the phonograph. Plagg phased through the divider, approaching Adrien.

“What are you doing here?” Plagg asked.

Adrien shushed him. “I’ll tell you later. But for now, Plagg, Claws Out!”

 

The fight was different than he remembered. It was… easier. Maybe because he had gotten their earlier. Maybe because he didn't get hit by Sandboy this time. Maybe because he knew immediately where the akuma was. Whatever it was, Adrien knew already that he had done a lot of changing to the timeline.

 

When Adrien got back to the mansion, and detransformed, Plagg seemed more sentimental than usual.

“Thank you, Adrien.” Adrien raised his eyebrow, puzzled what the kwami meant.

“What for?”

“Just… thanks for letting me do whatever I want. Almost all the time.”

Adrien grinned. “You know, Plagg, I really do trust you. You may be an immortal, magical being of destruction, so I know that deep down you know how to do the right thing.”

Plagg warmly smiled. “You’re the best Chat Noir I’ve ever had, Adrien,” his soft persona faded and he switched back to his smartass cover. “But let’s not get too cheesy about it now, huh?”

Adrien chuckled. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?” He got into bed. “Good night, Plagg.”

“Good night, Adrien.”

But even though Plagg went to sleep, Marinette’s bloody dead body was all that was on his mind.

Adrien didn’t get much sleep that night.


	5. Saturday

Like clockwork, time kept ticking past, and Adrien felt like the world kept moving without him. He lived in his scheduled days everyday, not realizing how free he was as an adult. No school, no work, no people to impress because you’re famous model, Adrien Agreste. Then again, as an adult, he was too depressed to think about doing anything else but sit around. He didn’t have the energy to. Now that he’s younger, his body has the energy to manage the thoughts weighing down his mind.

It had been a tiring week, with tests in class and Marc being akumatized, but Saturday finally came.

Adrien was staring at himself in the mirror again. He still hadn’t gotten used to his younger self. He didn’t know how to make himself presentable at this age. What was the style now? What would this Adrien do? He didn’t know.

He did the safest thing he could do and styled himself like he usually did, worrying that his attempts to make himself more presentable would come off as trying too hard. As Adrien continuously ran his fingers through his, trying to style it, Plagg floated over to him.

“What is wrong with you?” Adrien sighed.

“You wouldn’t understand, Plagg.”

Plagg scoffed. “I’ve lived longer than you can imagine. But no matter what, you humans and your emotions never cease to confuse me."

Adrien ignored the kwami, too distracted about what he will say to Marinette. 

 

Downstairs, there was a knock at the door. To Marinette’s surprise, Gabriel opened the door, greeting her.

“Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,” Gabriel said with a slight disdain in his voice.

“Mr. Agreste. Hello, I…” Marinette was about to praise his work but he cut her off.

“Are the wild admirer who stole the last gift I ever had before my wife disappeared. Are you not?”

Marinette’s smiled faded. “I- I’m sorry sir. I know I’ve apologized before, but I truly didn’t know its value. But I can assure you that I am not just a crazy admirer of Adrien. He is a good friend and I’m lucky to be working with him on this project.”

Gabriel looked away from her, almost making an effort not to make direct eye contact. “Very well then. Nathalie will lead you to Adrien’s room,” he looked back at her. “And I assume your project is online considering you didn’t bring any school supplies or even your backpack.”

Marinette’s eyes widened for a second but she nodded. “Yes. It’s a partner essay on La Chanson de Roland. A partner essay is basically where you research together and write an essay together but usually it ends up that one person does the researching part and the other does the writing part, not to say that that’s how it’s going to be with me and Adrien! Because we work together equally and divide the work up fairly. Not that it matters to you anyways because you are very busy man and I am… wasting your time.” She caught her breath and looked to Nathalie.

“I’ll take you to Adrien’s room,” Nathalie said, monotonously.

Marinette nodded, lips pursed. “That sounds good.” She followed the woman to Adrien’s room, which is as big as she remembered it being. But something felt different being there as Marinette and not Ladybug.

There he was. Adrien Agreste. He looked so distracted, fixing his hair while he looked at himself through the camera on his phone. Nathalie cleared her throat.

“Adrien. Your friend is here.”

Adrien turned around, his grin wide. “Marinette! I’m so glad you’re here. I was getting really stuck on how to word the symbolic significance of the beards.”

Marinette thought for a second, putting on a show for Nathalie. “The possession of a beard indicates age, experience, and wisdom but in some context, like when they’re riding off into battle, it’s a symbol of battle prowess and bravery.”

Adrien looked to Nathalie. “You can go now, Nathalie. We have work to do.” Nathalie nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Adrien smiled like a little kid on Christmas morning, running to grab his computer, and jumping on the couch. He patted the seat next to him

“Come on, Mari!”

She grinned shyly and went to sit next to him. He turned to her. “What do you want to watch? I’ve got Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, any streaming service you can think of. We can watch a movie or a show or anything you want! Really.”

Marinette tried to wrap her head around what was going on. Adrien was acting very different with her. Marinette took a good look at his eyes. Something she didn’t get to do normally.

To be mundane and plain, his eyes were green. Grass green, emerald, she wasn’t sure what to call them. It was the sort of green you’d see on a young tree in the forest, right where the stem meets the leaf. The kind of green that pushes its way through the piles of gritty snow to remind you that spring was coming. The green that was so familiar to her, yet she couldn’t figure out why. But they were different. Despite his smile, his eyes didn’t smile with it.

“Adrien, why did you ask me to come here?”

His movements stuttered, taken aback. When had she become so wary of him? “Wh… uh… I-I mean…” He didn’t know what to tell her. “I just… I really wanted to get to know you better. You know everyone in the class but me, and I just… really want to get to know you.” He was repeating himself too much. He was stumbling over his words. That’s what she always did to him.

“Are you sure? You just seem really… you don’t seem yourself.” Marinette was really concerned about him. He always seemed so calm and collected, so at ease. Now he was on edge. Did she really do that to him?

“Mari, I’m fine. Really. How could I not when I’m with you?” Marinette blushed slightly. “How about this, we can scroll through the recommended and we’ll pick something together.” Marinette smiled, nodding.

Adrien motioned for her to come sit closer with her. He put the earphone into her ear, and put his arm around her. She stiffened at first, but relaxed and leaned into his body. She could feel his chest rising as he took low breaths. She was watching as he scrolled through the movies, but she wasn’t able to think of anything but him. Adrien couldn’t even think of what was in front of him. Just the beautiful girl who sat next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some Plagg/Tikki fluff if you guys want a bonus chapter! Just comment and let me know if you do.


	6. Bonus: Plikki

While Marinette was distracted, Tikki phased through her purse, determined to find that damned black cat kwami. Finally she found him, munching on his cambebert in the dark of Adrien’s closet. Plagg looked up.

“Hey sugarcube,” he whispered.

Tikki groaned. “Again with the sugarcube, Plagg?”

He smirked. “What can I say, I get sentimental when it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”

Tikki rolled her eyes. “It’s been, what? A week? Did you really miss me that much? You didn't act this way when we were separated for a century. But I have to admit, I do miss your dumb puns.”

“Oh don’t get sappy on me, Tikks.” He took a big chomp of the stinky cheese.

“Ugh, I’ve had to deal with your terrible taste in foods for eons, Plagg. When will you find something to eat that doesn’t smell like stinky socks?”

Plagg shrugged. “You just don’t have the mature palette that I have acquired.”

“Whatever you say, Plagg.”

He leaned against her and nuzzled into her side. “You know you love me."

Tikki smiled softly. “I know I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! I hope you liked this short Plikki. I hope to have more Bonus Plikki because I really do love them together. <3


	7. Frozer

The week went on, and Adrien kept talking to Marinette. He made the conversations gradually more frequent. First just a simple “hi” and “how are you today” to “what are you up to this weekend?” and “would you like to go ice skating with me?” Alya wouldn’t stop bothering Marinette with this new thing she had going on with Adrien, but truly, she didn’t have any answers that Alya demanded.

The week went by slowly as Adrien waiting for the next time he’d get to spend with Marinette, one on one. They met at the ice rink that weekend, him telling his father that he needed to get out for some extra exercise for his next photoshoot.

Adrien walked over to Marinette, who was tying her skates on. She looked up at him and started to approach him.

“Hey Adri-WOAH!” She began to tumble to the ground, but he caught her.

“You okay, Marinette? That could’ve been a hard fall.”

Eyes wide, she just nodded, a goofy grin on her face. “Me? Falling. Yes. Fine fall. Falling fine. I’m fine.”

He smiled, and stood her up. “I’ll go get my skates on, and we can get on the ice.”

 

Adrien had to steady Marinette as she skated, since she was quite wobbly on the ice. They laughed as they steadied themselves on the wall and failed while trying to spin around, Adrien knowing he’d have a nasty bruise on his back from the impact of the ice. Suddenly, from across the ice, he heard a man call his name.

“Is that Adrien Agreste?!” The man skated over to the two teens. “Adrien Agreste! I can see it now! Grace and style, model and professional ice skating champion! If you take lessons with me I’ll have you shining like the candles on a birthday cake!” Adrien’s eyes went wide. He remembered this day. This was supposed to be the day of Frozer. He racked his brain, trying to figure out how to stop the akumatization from happening. Something clicked in his memory and he turned, smiling to Phillippe.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I really don’t have the time to take lessons with you.” His face dropped. “However, I think I have the solution to get you more students. Come here. Smile!” Adrien pulled out his phone and took a selfie with the enthusiastic ice skater. He spoke as he typed. “This is Philippe at the ice rink. He makes skating a breeze while also keeping it fun!” He posted it the photo and turned to Philippe. “I hope this helps get you more students.” Philippe’s smile widened greatly.

“Thank you Monsieur Agreste. Thank you so much!” Adrien grinned to himself, knowing he stopped an akuma. Marinette’s eyes sparkled with admiration as she looked at Adrien.

“Why did you do that?”

He turned to her. “I overheard him talking to Mayor Bourgeois. The mayor wanted to convert the ice rink into a gym because he didn’t have any students come in this year. I figured, since I do have a massive following on social media, I could finally do something with it.” Marinette realized that the guy she had been swooning over really was how she imagined him to be. However, that also made her realize, that she didn’t know much about him yet. She knew he was kind and intelligent, she even knew his entire schedule, but she didn’t know who Adrien truly was.

“Adrien, tell me something about yourself.”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“I know you fence, play basketball and play piano, but what do you like to do outside of your rigorous schedules and modeling gigs?” Adrien bit the inside his mouth as he thought.

“I usually spend time with a good friend. We go out and do charity work in a way. I really like helping other people during hard times in their life.” Marinette’s heart skipped.

“Would I know this friend?” Adrien had to pause and carefully word this. After all, he was talking about her.

“I don’t think so. But she’s a lot like you. Caring, understanding, and generous.”

Marinette’s smiled began to falter. “Oh. You must really like her.”

Adrien shook his head. “She’s great and all, but I think you truly do the right thing, no matter when the time is or who you’re with. That’s the great thing about you. Even with people like Ladybug and Chat Noir helping Paris in big ways, you help people everyday in your own little ways. You make sure that you make a positive mark on people’s lives.”

The jet black haired girl’s face was red with blush. “Y-you’re really great too, Adrien.”

He shrugged. “I just do what I’m supposed to do, you know? I do my lessons, I model, and I do what I have to. Really, I just want to make everyone happy. True, I have a brand to keep up with the way I act, but I would never just do something for the sake of preserving a name. At the end of the day, even if people don’t realize it, I’m not just Adrien Agreste. I’m Adrien Agreste. If that makes sense.”

Marinette nodded. “I’m sorry for just seeing you as Adrien Agreste, and not for you for so long. It’s hard not to, you know? You’re plastered on billboards around the city and I see advertisements of you on the TV, and then all of a sudden, you’re here. Really here in front of me, and I don’t know anything else but the face of brand.”

Adrien stopped skating. Marinette halted as well, turning to him, unsure of why he abruptly stopped. “Marinette, you may not know me yet, but I promise you, that can change.” Already, fans of Adrien were flooding to the ice rink and not only crowding Philippe, but also pointing to Adrien, while chattering amongst themselves. “Do you want to get out of here? Get something to eat? Get to know each other over lunch?” Marinette nodded.

 

As they walked to Sabine and Tom’s Boulangerie Patisserie, Marinette told him things he already knew, but the way she lit up as she spoke made it worth hearing again. She gushed about fashion design and her experiences as class representative and when she worked with Jagged Stone. These are the little things he forgot about her over time. She gushed about her parents and how she loved to work in the bakery with them and it made him realize how much he resented his parental situation. Marinette could tell he was feeling down.

“Talk to me.”

He shook his head, trying to get over it so he wouldn’t ruin the moment they were having. “It’s just my parents. You know?”

She nodded. “Yeah.” She wasn’t really sure what to say. Did it seem like bragging when she spoke about her great relationship with her parents? She felt insensitive, knowing his home life.

“You’re really lucky,” he started. “Your parents seem really great. I’m sure you grew up surrounded by pastries, making croissants and macarons since you were little. I would play piano for my parents and my mother and would play out in the garden, but we never took the time to just bake together. I don’t even know how to make a simple pate a choux.”

Marinette, an idea sparking, turned to him. “Why don’t I teach you?” That made his sadness evaporate away as a wide grin on his face begin to grow.

 

“So then you add the flour…”

“Into the boiling butter water?”

“Yes, that’s how you make the dough.”

“But won’t that be like… warm flour?”

“What’s wrong with warm flour?”

“I don’t know. Warm flour just doesn’t sound right.”

“Am I not the one teaching you?”

“B-ut warm flour? That…” Marinette cut him off, sticking a finger of vanilla pastry cream into his mouth. He sucked on her finger to get the cream off, which prompted her to quickly pull it out, blushing profusely.

“Uh, then after you add the flour, y-you have to stir until it’s all incorporated.” She continued to stir, but Adrien went behind her, his stomach pressing against her back. He grabbed the spoon that was in her hand.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be learning, right? Why not let me stir? Give your arms a break.” Marinette couldn’t even begin to find the words to say. Instead she stuttered out an incoherent “okay” while moving out of the way.

“I-I eggs crack going to crack the eggs bowl into bowl… yup.” She pointed to the bowl and then began cracking the eggs into it, looking away from Adrien as she tried to compose herself.

After a couple minutes of mixing, Adrien turned to the bashful girl. “I think it’s, what did you say, well incorporated?”

Marinette nodded. “Alright. So we are going to move the hot dough into the mixer and let it sit for about four minutes to cool before we add the eggs.”

“Why do we have to let it cool?” Marinette hadn’t realized how clueless Adrien was about baking.

“If you don’t let it cool, it could scramble the eggs when you add them, and then your dough will taste really eggy and you don’t want that.” He looked at her with reverence. She was just like he remembered her to be.

“Whatever you say.”

As they continued to make the cream puffs, Adrien shamelessly flirted with Marinette which made her more and more flustered, but also made her loosen up more around him. He joked around with her and they got to know each other more. When they were piping the pate a choux, Marinette took a bit of extra dough she got on her finger and wiped it on his nose. Gasping over exaggeratedly, he took some pastry cream and wiped it on her lips. She laughed, taking some flour and flicking it in his face. On instinct, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. Her eyes were wide, but she softened into the kiss and closed them. This was her first real kiss. Was she supposed to move her lips? Was she supposed to separate them? Finally, she stopped analyzing it, and let herself just kiss him back.

She tasted sweet because of that vanilla cream on her lips. He tasted like buttermints. She felt fireworks explode throughout her body. He felt like he always did, like it was the first time each time. He pulled away, realizing that this wasn’t his Marinette. This wasn’t her normal. She wasn’t used to this at all.

“I… I’m sorry,” he said, extremely apologetically.

“N-no don’t be. It’s… that was nice.” He looked to her, looking into her eyes. They were so innocent. They were so hopeful. They were filled with love. He hadn’t seen that look in so long.

“I should get going. Father is probably expecting me to get started on my mandarin soon.”

She nodded, understanding that he was busy. “Right. I’ll see you at school?”

He nodded as well. “Right.”

She looked to the unfinished cream puffs. “I’ll bring you one then. When they’re baked and everything.”

Adrien smiled softly. “Sounds perfect.” And he left, even though he didn’t want to, but he knew that she needed time to process everything herself. She walked him out, and finished making the cream puffs, letting everything sink in. When she went to her room, she flopped onto her bed, not quite believing what happened really did.

“Tikki?” she called out.

“Yes, Marinette?”

Marinette placed her hands on her head. “Did I just kiss Adrien Agreste?”


	8. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: Mentions of depression, self harm, and suicide. This chapter is not crucial to the story, but a build on who future Adrien is and what he has gone through.

Adrien woke up abruptly, in a cold sweat.

Plagg, very concerned, floated over. “This is the third time this week, Adrien. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Plagg. Really. Just bad dreams. I’m sorry. Just… go back to sleep. I’m gonna go to the bathroom.”

Plagg knew Adrien wouldn’t let him argue with him, so he stayed at his bed, worried about the boy.

Adrien steadied himself on the sink, but his arms gave in and he kneeled on the ground, laying his head on the cold granite, letting the tears fall. There was no denying that mentally, he wasn't okay. In the future, he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder after all he had went through, but this Adrien didn’t have that. Or at least, he didn’t until he came. It came slowly. When Adrien got back into this teenage body, it was all the same as this Adrien had left it. Happy. Healthy. But the longer that he stayed in it, the more similar to his future self it is.

He started getting the cravings. The ones to drink away his hurt. This body never had the alcohol in its system, so they weren’t withdrawals, but he still remembered the sting of the vodka shots and bitterness of the beers. The way it just soothed everything away into a blurry, numb nothingness where he wasn’t hurting but he wasn’t feeling either. It was just empty, and empty is better than hurting.

He doesn’t know why he had still been hurting. Everyone was alive. He was getting a second chance. Everything should be better, right?

But this wasn’t his life anymore. These people are the people he remembered yet they didn’t have the memories he did. He hadn’t lived this life in a long time, and it wasn’t his to live anymore. When he’s around his father or around his peers, he was just putting up an act. He couldn’t focus on what was going on inside, because he couldn’t let this facade down. But now that he’s alone, sitting on the bathroom floor, at three in the morning, he’s feeling everything all at once. Everything he pushed away.

His mind screamed at him, flooding his conscious with memories that he buried deep inside. Her, lying in his arms, blood gushing from her chest, her eyes wet with tears. Visiting his father in the prison, disgusted by the truth, and still a disappointment in to him. The burning in his throat as his body rejected the bottles of pills, blood dripping from his forearms all over the bathroom tiles.

Death. It was something so inevitable. Something he had seen dictate his life. Something that was so simple and so quick, and yet stops your life from ever moving on.

Why was he thinking about this again? He was happy. Wasn’t he? Why does he still want to…

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t end this feeling and he couldn’t drown the pain out with booze. So what could he do? He could…

Opening his medicine cabinet, he grabbed his razor. It was so tempting. So familiar. He had gone to this before, so why was he hesitating now? Because this wasn’t his body to harm. There were people who actually care about him. He couldn’t do that to them. The tears coming down harder as he threw the razor across the bathroom and broke down. He curled into fetal position, sobs escaping his mouth, as he grabbed at his hair with one hand and dug into his skin with the other.

Why did this hurt so much? Why does he hurt so much?

Plagg came into the bathroom, despite Adrien not wanting him to see him like this. The kwami didn’t know what to say, so he just floated to sit on the floor next to him.

After a long time of crying, his body was too dehydrated to cry anymore. Going limp out of exhaustion, he fell asleep on the hard tiles of his bathroom to be found and questioned by Nathalie in the morning.


	9. Everyday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bear with me. This is just a Nino appreciation filler. The next chapter is spicy.

The next day, Adrien got to class, his hair disheveled, wearing a hoodie over his t-shirt, despite Nathalie insisting he make more of effort in his appearance. He was sleep deprived, pale from dehydration, and his eyes were puffy from all of the crying. He rested his head on his crossed arms on his desk, trying to make up sleep from his rough night.

 

“Hey Adrien!” Nino greeted. Lethargically, Adrien sat up, smiling weakly and waving. “Woah. You look like shit.”

Adrien chuckled with the little energy he had. “Thanks, Nino.” His voice was rough since his throat was so dry. He leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair.

“What’s going on, dude? Has your dad been making you do extra night gigs again?”

Adrien shook his head. “Not yet, since my forehead is still too “unexceptional” for the cameras. Just couldn’t sleep last night.”

Nino sat down next to the blonde boy. “That’s the understatement of a lifetime. You should’ve taken a sick day. There’s something seriously wrong if you’re this exhausted.”

Adrien shook his head. “No, no. It’s fine. Really. I’m fine. This happens all the time.” Adrien stopped abruptly. He shouldn’t have said that. This didn’t happen all the time to Nino’s Adrien. This happened to him.

“If you ever need to talk to someone, I’m here. I won’t always know what to say, but I’m here.”

Adrien looked to the concerned boy, feeling so grateful to have him back in his life. “You’re really the best, Nino. You are the best friend I could ask for.”

Nino smiled, and patted Adrien on the back. “Back at you, man.” Nino started to empty his backpack as Adrien watched the other boy. He had forgotten about how truly beneath that nonchalant air of chill confidence, Nino was one of the most compassionate friends he had. He always did care about other people. That’s why he was the perfect choice as Carapace; he wanted to do the right thing when the city needed him. Adrien didn’t realize how much he missed his positive influence on his life. Nino would never had let him do the things he did after the Hawkmoth battle, but of course, he wasn’t there to stop him. He was gone. But he’s not anymore. Adrien’s deep thoughts were interrupted by the soft and high voice that he knew so well.

“Hey Adrien. I-I brought you some cream puffs.” Adrien looked up, trying to muster the energy to be the guy she deserved.

“Thanks, Marinette. I really appreciate it. I could really use the sugar right now.” He took the pastries from her, and popped on in his mouth, savoring the sweet, unhealthy goodness, that his father definitely would disapprove of. He moaned in delight at the taste. Marinette’s eyes went wide. “They’re really delicious, Mari. Thank you again.” He stood up and grabbed her hands, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I had a great time this weekend. We should definitely do that again.” He pulled away, smiling, and went to sit down again, feeling a little light headed. Marinette’s face was red from blush as she sat at her desk. Alya and Nino, both watching it all happen, gave each other a look.

“Girl, what was that?!” Alya whispered to the flustered girl.

Marinette shrugged, not sure what to call it. She had been so distracted by Adrien’s presence, she hadn’t noticed how out of it he truly was. Instead she stared dreamily at the back of his head. Nino turned around, and shared a similar look with Alya, that could only be translated as “what is going on that we don’t know about?”

The day went on as it usually would, and Adrien just had to live it like everything was normal. He fenced, he did his homework, he didn’t eat enough, and he collapsed in bed at the end of the day.

Sadly, Adrien didn’t sleep well that night either.


	10. Style Queen

Adrien fixed his tie. He had forgotten how much he hated these form fitting, uncomfortable suits. But it is what fashion is. Looks, not comfort. He had to admit, the all black was something that did suit him. Very, Chat Noir.

It had been a week since his breakdown, and things have gotten better. He didn’t feel better, but he certainly looked better, considering his father is letting him do a show tonight. He pulled at the sleeves of his dress shirt, as if it’ll make it more comfortable.

There was a knock at the door. Plagg dashed into the stacks of clothes to hide as he went to open the door.

“Hello, Marinette.”

She smiled sweetly, Nathalie standing behind her. “Hi, Adrien.” She came into the dressing room, but she didn’t trip like the first time this happened. He was anticipating that fall so that the feather wouldn’t fall out, but it didn’t happen.

“I really love this hat, Marinette.”

She smiled again, but it faltered as she looked away. “Well at least someone does. The queen of fashion, Audrey Bourgeois, saw it and hated it. Ugh, I’m a total no-talent. Please don’t put it on.”

Adrien bit the inside of his mouth, trying to figure out what to do. He put on the hat and began to strut, and turned on the ball of his dress shoe, posing. “Well if a no-talent made this hat, how could it look this good? And why would Gabriel Agreste choose it out of any other hat?” He struck another pose, holding the rim of the hat, and looking to her with a smolder. As he spoke he continued to pose. “Here we have Adrien Agreste, wearing a piece by the one and only Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and you’re getting the sneak beak.”

Marinette chuckled. “You do look very hen-dsome.” Adrien smiled wide.

Nathalie, tired of their flirting, cleared her throat. “We have to go.” Marinette pursed her lips to keep her from smiling too much.

“I guess owl see you later,” Adrien said, winking at her. As she left, he sighed, looking in the mirror. He knew what day this was. This was the day of Style Queen. He knew he had to do something to avoid getting frozen by the Style Queen, so he ran to the bathroom, knowing this wasn’t a good idea, but he forced himself to throw up, getting it all over his outfit. He rubbed his face to make it looked flushed, and went to Nathalie, informing her of his sudden illness.

“But Adrien, you’re supposed to be out there in five minutes.” Adrien pretended as if he had vomited a little in his mouth, and then swallowed, to really play up the act.

“Nathalie, I must’ve eaten something or caught something, because I really don’t feel well. Plus, I can’t go out there in this. It’s ruined.”

Nathalie thought for a second, but nodded. “I will call your father immediately.” Adrien nodded, weakly, to keep up the sick rouse, as Nathalie exited the dressing room. Making sure she was gone, Adrien went to the shelves where Plagg hid.

“Plagg. Claws out!”

 

Adrien looked around the runway. Nathalie had been turned to the gold by Style Queen, which meant the only person who would knew where Adrien was supposed to be is out of the way for now. Style Queen stood strongly above Ladybug, her back on the ground.

“Ladybug! Use your Lucky Charm!” Chat Noir yelled. Ladybug, now having a moment with Style Queen distracted, used her Lucky Charm. Unbeknownst to her, Chat Noir already knew where the akuma was, and had used his Cataclysm on it. He just needed her to use her Lucky Charm so she could restore all of the golden statues back into people. Ladybug turned around after assessing how to use the red and black item, to see Aubrey Bourgeois laying on the ground, an akuma flying out from the golden rose.

“Uh… no more evil doing for you little akuma?” She purified the akuma but turned to Chat Noir, quite surprised the ease he has had in these last fights. “How did you know that the akuma was in the rose?”

Chat Noir hesitated, unsure of what to say. “She was protecting it, so it was bound to be the thing that she didn’t want destroyed.”

Ladybug nodded, and threw the Lucky Charm in the air, saying her usual catchphrase. When she turned to ask Chat Noir another question, he was gone. As her earrings beeped, unwillingly, she went to go detransform instead of going after Chat Noir.

 

Adrien ran back to his dressing room, detransforming as he closed the door. Plagg floated to his to his bag, grabbed some camembert, and came back to the tired teen.

“You couldn’t have possibly known that there was an akuma out there.”

Adrien, exhausted and resting his head on his hand as he propped his arm on the table, looked to the kwami. “What are you talking about, Plagg?”

Plagg eyed him suspiciously. “All of a sudden you get sick, but then you want to transform for no reason, except there is a reason, because you somehow know that there’s an akuma attack going on.”

“I could hear the commotion out there,” he responded casually, it being the first excuse to come to mind.

“No you couldn’t. Adrien, what’s going on?” Adrien realized his playtime was over. This wasn’t just a person he was lying to. This was an immortal being who not only has years of experience with human behavior, but has known Adrien himself for two years now. He knew that Plagg was bound to catch on to the sudden change.

“I'm not who you think I am.”

Plagg, defensive, floated away from him. “Where is Adrien?”

The blonde boy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I am Adrien. Just not… your Adrien.” Plagg still didn’t understand. “I'm from the future.”

Plagg scoffed. “No you're not. You look the same. Adrien, seriously, tell me what's going on.”

Adrien struggled to find the right way to explain it. “It was 2027 and I was in my apartment. It was after we defeated Hawkmoth, six years after, and… things were different. Different than how we wish it could’ve turned out. I found the two miraculous, mine and Ladybug’s, and all of a sudden I'm fifteen again.”

Plagg was now very concerned. “Did you make a wish?”

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

Plagg was being very serious. Adrien had never seen him like this. Not since... “Adrien. Please tell me you weren’t an idiot and used the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous together to make a wish.”\

Adrien really had to think back. He didn’t mean to make a wish, but he... “I did make a wish.”

Plagg looked away for second, taking it what he said, and then came closer to him. “Adrien. You have to really think. What did you wish for?”

He truly didn’t know. It was just an afterthought. One of those things that you just say, not expecting to come true. “Something like I wanted to start over? Or I… I don’t know Plagg it…”

"Adrien," Plagg interjected, "this is very, very important. What did you wish for?”

Adrien shook his head, cracking under the pressure. “I really don’t know, Plagg. Please, I’ll tell you when I remember but I can’t just force myself to remember what I’ve forgotten.”

Plagg was about to say something, when there was a sudden knock at the door. The kwami flew back under the stacks of clothes. “Come in!” Adrien called out.

Nathalie opened the door. “Adrien, I was not able to reach your father. Are you sure you cannot go out?”

Adrien shook his head, and smiled. “I’ve been resting in here for a while and I drank some water, and now I feel much better. Do you think they can get me a change of clothes? I can go out on the runway now.

Nathalie nodded. “I’m sure we can arrange something.”

 

As Adrien did the fashion show, something felt off. Something else was supposed to happen today. But what was it? As he posed for the cameras, something clicked. His father was supposed to make his first public appearance. But since Adrien didn’t get turned to gold, and Style Queen didn’t kidnap him, there was no reason for Gabriel to come to the show and show his affection for his son. It was just any other show. No big story about Gabriel Agreste coming out from hiding. No special Agreste father-son moment. Just a fashion show with Marinette’s hat design.

After the show, he saw Chloe and her parents, standing in the lobby. He approached them, putting on his best perfect boy act.

“Thank you for coming to the show, Madame Bourgeois. You look beautiful as always. Even though I was the one on stage, you were the one who always steals the spotlight.”

Audrey waved her hand, dismissing the comment. “You’re just like your father, Adrien.”

Adrien didn’t like being compared to his father, but he just smiled. “Did you enjoy the show?”

Audrey crossed her arms. “So so.” She took the hat off of Adrien’s head and began to inspect it as Marinette and her family approached. “This hat is not a Gabriel Agreste.” She turned to look to the pigtailed girl. “Are you responsible for that?”

Because Marinette seemed quite nervous, Adrien nudged her and gave her an encouraging look. She gulped. “I… I’m the one who created it,” the anxious girl stated.

“Marinette won a fashion design competition, and this hat was chosen by my father himself,” Adrien added.

Audrey raised her eyebrows, impressed. “It’s quite exceptional. You are really the visionary. Glitter is the fashion of yesterday. Feathers are the trend of tomorrow. You want to be a fashion designer?”

Marinette nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

Audrey took a card from out of her purse. “Keep doing work like this, and one day, you could be working for me. Your name will be across the billboards of New York. I can make you the biggest name in fashion.”

Marinette and her parent’s mouths were all agape in shock. Marinette took the card with her shaky hand. “Thank you, Madame Bourgeois.”

At this point, Adrien had taken Chloe aside, who was fuming with anger. He knew this is when she was going to out herself with the bee miraculous, and he had to prevent that.

“Adrien, this is ridiculous! How can she do this to me? She has never once let me go to New York with her, and now Marinette is her new passion project! It’s not fair. She never has been proud of me like she was with Marinette just now. Marinette is so… I can’t believe her.”

Adrien put his hand on her arm. “Is this really about Marinette, or is it about something else?”

Chloe looked up at him, softening. She let out a breath. “Of course this isn’t about Marinette. This is about mother. And how she never has cared for me. It’s like I’m invisible, Adrien.”

Adrien bit the inside of his mouth. “You’re not invisible, Chloe. But not being invisible isn’t good. You try to get attention, no matter what, even if that attention is negative. That’s not okay. I know you can’t please your mother, but have you ever tried just being enough for yourself? Not pushing around Sabrina, not letting it out on Marinette while you claw your way to the top, but just... take a step back to focus on how you feel about you instead of what everyone else is thinking of you? You do matter, Chloe. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. Not Marinette, not your mother, and especially not me. Think about it, deep down. Do you really like the person you’ve become?”

Chloe, tearing up, shook her head. “No. No, I don’t.” She hugged Adrien as she began to cry. He rubbed her back as she got his suit wet, but he didn’t care. She needed this.

“Remember who you used to be, Chloe. That little girl who took that shy and socially awkward kid in her life, forcing him to face the world. Giving him makeovers and pushing him to continue pursuing his modeling even when he just wanted to be a normal kid. That girl that made him feel normal even though he never could truly be normal. You are the only person who understands the pressures of the public expectations of you. You have been a great friend to me. Don’t let that girl fade away.”

Chloe pulled away, wiping her eyes. “You’ve always been such an amazing friend, Adrien. Thank you for always having faith in me.”

Adrien smiled softly. “Just keep being you, Chloe. Not who you think you should be. Who you truly are. You’ll realize that it’s worth it. Being hard on everyone else takes a bigger toll on your own view on yourself than you think. The more you blame other people for what you are doing wrong, the farther you get away from true improvement.” Adrien realized this is really the advice he needed too.

“Thank you, Adrien.”

He smiled, and rubbed his thumb on her arm. “Let’s get back over there, alright?”

She nodded, and gave him one last hug. He hugged her back. “I’m always going to be here, Chloe. Don’t give me a reason not to be.”


	11. Redemption

Chloe approached her mother’s helicopter that was ready to go to New York. She had been building up the confidence to finally confront her mother about her feelings. Audrey fixed her hat with her gloved hands. Chloe could hear her mother sternly ordering Jean to correctly put away her bags into the helicopter. The teen, nervously pulling at her sleeves, addressed her mother,

“Mom. I just came to tell you that… that I love you and I hope you have a good flight.”

Audrey rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. “Right right, whatever you say Chlorene.”

Chloe bit her lip, holding back her disappointment that her mother didn’t show her the same compassion she felt towards her. “Why don’t you love me, mom?”

Her mother turned to her, flabbergasted by the question. “But… uh- of course I l-l-love you.”

“Then why did you miss my last ten birthdays without even sending a card? Why haven’t I been invited to see New York with you? Why haven’t you answered when I’ve called you just needing to talk to my mom?”

Audrey sighed. “Don’t make a scene, dear. Really.”

Chloe was now getting upset. “Is that all you care about? Me making a scene?”

Aubrey checked her phone. “Really Claire, I have to go.”

“My name is Chloe! It is and always has been Chloe!”

Audrey was taken aback by her daughter raising her voice. "Chloe,” she said, addressing her like a young child, “I have to go now.” She got into the helicopter, and shut the door without looking back to her daughter. Chloe clenched her jaw as she wiped away her tears. Her butler came to her, handing her her beloved teddy bear, Mr. Cuddly, that was always there in her darkest time. She looked up to Jean, realizing that it wasn’t Mr. Cuddly who was there for her during her darkest times, but Jean himself. Even when her parents were busy with their jobs, Jean was there to care for Chloe and listen to her. He played pretend with her and supported her and he always encouraged her to be her better self.

“Jean?” He looked to her, expecting a command or a snarky remark. Instead, she softly said, “Thank you.”

The butler, his posture straight, tilted his head. “What for, Mademoiselle?”

Chloe smiled. “For always being you.”

 

All night, Chloe tried to figure out who to do her assignment on for class. It was supposed to be someone important in French history. Originally, she was going to do it on someone like her parents, but she realized, there was more to life than just hers. She scrolled through the internet, actually doing the work for her project. She had always made Sabrina do her schoolwork for her, but she realized that she had to start doing things herself if she wanted to be a better person.

The next day in class as she began her presentation, the class rolled their eyes and scoffed as they saw the title slide reading “Coco Chanel.” She took a big breath and made eye contact with Adrien. He nodded, giving her assurance that everything was going to be okay.

“Many of you recognize the name Coco Chanel. However, I don’t think you know the person behind the brand. Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel is one of the most well-known fashion designers of all time. It has been nearly 50 years since she has passed away and she is still a household name. She is known for her luxury items, but she didn’t start her life in the first class. Her mother was unmarried and she grew up in poverty. When she was 12, her mother passed away from tuberculosis, and her father sent her and her sisters to an orphanage. In 1913, she opened a boutique selling fashionable clothes in Deauville. Her use of jersey fabric was an innovation during the shortages of the First World War. She quickly gained a reputation for being on the forefront of fashion. During the Second World War in 1939, three thousand of her workers lost their jobs. It wasn’t a time for fashion. However, Coco Chanel pushed through it and is now known for her luxury purses and her perfumes. She really is an embodiment of female empowerment and shows that anyone can accomplish anything if they work hard for it. She is an inspiration not only in fashion, but to women everywhere. Thank you.” The class was speechless. They had expected that sort of presentation from Marinette, sure, but Chloe? They all clapped, still shocked of this 180 that is Chloe’s personality. She shyly went back to her seat, Sabrina staring at her, baffled. Madame Bustier.

“Thank you, Chloe. Who’s next?”

 

As Marinette and Alya walked to lunch, they quietly whispered to each other, still puzzled about Chloe’s presentation.

 “Sabrina couldn’t have made that right? Because Chloe wasn’t reading off of a paper. She knew that information. She had to be the one who made it.”

Alya shook her head. “But Chloe never does her own work. What’s making her do it now?” All of a sudden, the blonde girl went up to the other girls, smiling softly.

“Hey Marinette. I just wanted to say, I really liked your presentation on Olympe de Gouges. I learned a lot that I would’ve never known without it.”

Marinette stared at the ponytailed girl, unsure of how to respond. “Uh thank you Chloe. I liked yours too. I already knew a lot about Coco Chanel’s brand and fashion history, but I had no idea about her familial background.” Chloe smiled.

“Well, have a good lunch you two. See you in class!”

The two girls looked at each other, eyes wide. “What is going on?”

 

Adrien grinned to himself, knowing that he has stopped two akumas with just one conversation. However, he knew he had to keep up his positive reinforcement with Chloe, or she may just go back to old habits. He crossed off the names “Queen Wasp” and “Malediktator” on his list he made. He had realized that he could really make a difference if he wrote down all of the akumas that happened around this time. That way he could keep track of what comes next. This way, he can do more than just save Marinette. Plagg floated over to the boy and read over his shoulder.

“You know it’s not going to be this easy, right?” Adrien turned to his kwami.

“What are you talking about?” Plagg sighed.

“The more you change, the more things are going to change. It sounds simple, but I don’t think you’ve realized it. If you stop these things from happening, you’re causing a ripple effect. You stop a small akuma, a bigger one replaces it.” Adrien bit the inside of his mouth. Plagg was right, he hadn’t thought of that.

“Different is better than my future,” he said monotonously, getting upset just thinking about it again.

“What could be so bad in your future? You defeated Hawkmoth, right? Isn’t that enough?”

Adrien clenched his jaw. “Everyone’s gone. My father is in jail. Paris never recovers from the damage of the final battle and neither do I.”

“You’re going to have to be a little less cryptic than that, kid.” Adrien looked up away, realizing this is the first time he’s ever talked about what he went through.

“During the fight, Ladybug died. Despite all of that, I successfully defeated Hawkmoth, but he turned out to be my father. He was taken away by the cops and at that point, I couldn’t save Ladybug. Since she was gone, she couldn’t use her Miraculous Ladybug, so everything was destroyed for good. Master Fu passed away when his massage shop went down in flames so the only Miraculouses left were Ladybug and mine, Nino got crushed under a falling building as he saved the people inside, and I couldn’t even save Marinette’s parents because their bakery was crushed by eiffel tower debris that the akuma was hurtling across the city. So, my bestfriend, my girlfriend and my partner were gone forever. I was an orphan with no money to go to university, a ruined reputation, and a lifetime's worth of trauma and depression.”

Plagg was speechless. “I didn’t know.”

Adrien shook his head. “How would you? In the end, we did get what we wanted. We defeated Hawkmoth. Woohoo.” He scoffed. “But we lost everything to get there.” Adrien let out a deep breath, when he heard a sudden knock at his door.

“Come in, Nathalie,” he called out, not turning around from the couch.

“It’s actually me, Adrien. May I come in?”

Adrien turned around to face his father, confused. “Oh. Hello, father. Yes, come in. Did I forget about a photoshoot again?”

His father shook his head. “No, Adrien. I actually came to talk to you.”

Adrien raised his eyebrows. This was very unlike his father. “I was debating coming to see you myself at your last photoshoot since you had been attacked by that akuma, but I figured it would be better if I just came to talk to you in private.” He sat down next to his son, sighing. “Adrien, it has been very hard on me ever since your mother disappeared, and I don’t think I realized how much it has affected you as well. I figured we finally talk about this together because we are truly the only two people who know what the other is going through.”

Adrien bit the inside of his mouth. “I don’t know what to say, father.”

“Just talk to me, Adrien. How do you feel? What do you need?”

Adrien felt his blood begin to boil. “I feel like ever since mom disappeared, you stopped being a father to me. I feel like you’ve been the one person I needed most and yet you’re the one person who was absent from my life. It’s like I didn’t just lose my mother, but also my father.” Adrien was raising his voice slightly, but he calmed himself down. His father was at a loss for words.

“I didn’t know you felt this way.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “You know, Adrien, I would do anything to get her back. I have tried everything I can, but I always seem to fall two steps back after every step I take. My only wish would be to bring her back so we could be a happy family again.” And then all of a sudden, everything became clear. The five years fighting his father who demanded to have his Miraculous. The reason his father was only there in his Chat Noir life. It was the very reason he was back now, sitting in his bedroom talking to his father. The wish.

Adrien’s eyes were darting around as he tried to comprehend this information. His father fought him and Ladybug for years, caused hell on his life because, all because he wanted to get his mother back. For six years, he was left with no answers, just a malicious father who wanted power. He figured his father was so long gone that he could never truly care about him, and that’s why he treated him the way he did for so long. But here he is, his father telling him that all of this had been for him, and he didn’t know what to think. His father wasn’t this heartless, evil man who just wanted to destroy the city for the power of three Miraculous. He was a heartbroken man in mourning of the loss of his wife who just wanted her back. He just wanted his family to be the way it used to be.

And Adrien kept thinking, how could keep it up for five years? How could he keep trying and failing to get the Miraculous for so long, and hurt so many people in the process to a seemingly endless and unrewarding fight? But Adrien couldn’t blame his father, because he would do the same thing if he was put in the same position. He knew he would. He knew that he did.

“There’s nothing you can do to bring her back, father. Even if there was, you shouldn’t waste your life trying to bring her back. She wouldn’t want us sitting around, letting our days move on without us while we are still stuck on losing her. She would want us to move on together, and remember her for the woman she was, and let that influence the choices we make now. To honor her. I know she loved us very much, and she wouldn’t want to see us suffering without her and holding on, when we could thrive even without her being with us.” Gabriel was taken aback by the mature words coming from his son. They seemed as though he was much older and experienced, and that’s because he was. At this point, Adrien realized he wasn’t really talking about his mother anymore. He had spent so long thinking about how his life had been ruined with Marinette, but he never once tried to just move on without her. He didn’t make new friends, he didn’t try to better himself, he just let himself go and became something she would’ve never wanted for him. “Don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again.”

Gabriel and Adrien ended up talking more than they had ever since his mother passed away, and it wasn’t about a photoshoot or about school. It was just, talking. He learned about his mother and the man his father used to be. The man he still could be. And for a short lived moment, his father wasn’t Hawkmoth, the man who ruined his life. He was Gabriel Agreste, his father.


	12. Heroes' Day

Adrien had been waiting for this day with anxiety and preparation. He had his plan of what he was going to do. He reminded Marinette to do her good deed for the class, he knew who to deakumatize first, and how to protect his friends from Dark Cupid and akumatization. He planned everything.

As he got to class, early as usual, he waited for Marinette. As she entered, he grabbed her arm, stopping her from going to her seat.

“Hey, can we talk for a sec?” Marinette, flustered, nodded. “So, Lila is gonna call today. Madame Bustier mentioned it. I know you and her aren’t on the best terms, but don’t stoop to her level, okay? Let her play pretend and make everyone see her the way she wants them to. I know you know the best in people, and I know you can tell when someone isn’t being honest, but you just have to let that go, okay? Just for today. I’m here and I believe you, and that’s all that matters, right? That someone knows that you’re not the one who’s just trying to make her look bad. So just keep your cool, don’t make a scene, and be civil, because sometimes being kind is better than being right.” Marinette wasn’t sure what to say. This was really out of nowhere, but she knew he was right. Lila always brought out the worst in her.

Marinette bit on her phone as she sat through Lila’s exaggerations and lies, but kept in mind what Adrien said. After the call, the class went around telling what they did for Heroes’ Day, and Marinette realized that there were more important things than Lila. If she didn’t want to tell the truth, that’s fine, because she had a room of real friends who do the right thing.

“What about you, Adrien?” asked Madame Bustier.

“I advertised all of the local animal shelters on my social media and got thirty four dogs and cats forever homes, as well as helped around the animal shelters themselves.” Madame Bustier clapped, delighted.

“Marinette?” Marinette stood, confident in what she has done.

“I designed and made sweaters for local homeless teens in Paris for the winter.”

Chloe turned to Marinette. The pigtailed girl, expecting the usual jab from the blonde girl, was surprised to be complimented. “They’re all lucky to get sweaters made by you, Marinette. You’re a great designer.” \

Marinette smiled. “Thank you, Chloe.”

Madame Bustier turned to look to Chloe. “What did you do for Heroes’ Day, Chloe?”

Chloe smiled, proud that this was the first year she was truly doing something. “I hired three professional chefs to give the people at the soup kitchen a meal they would never forget, as well as giving them some toiletries because they really needed them.”

Adrien cringed slightly at the end of her sentence, but he knew she meant well and was really trying to do the right thing. Madame Bustier went around the rest of the room, and as everyone shared, she became more and more proud of the wonderful students she had.

Later, Adrien anxiously watched the parade on his phone waiting for Volpina’s big illusion, but as the parade went on and eventually ended, there was nothing. Realizing he must’ve done something to stop it, he continued his day happy and ready to celebrate Heroes’ Day.

 

That night, after Adrien attended to his father’s charity event, he went out as Chat Noir to just take a nice look at Paris the way it should be. The way it used to be. Marinette saw the boy in black leather jumping across from the rooftops and transformed to go join him, not quite sure why he was out so late.

“Hey kitty.” Chat Noir looked up to her dreamily.

“Hello m’lady. You know, it’s a beautiful night, but nothing compares to your beauty.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Chat.” They were sitting on the Eiffel Tower now, their legs dangling over the side, the moon and the stars shining down on them. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about what you said. It was a while ago, but we haven’t had the chance to really talk until now. You really worried me. I thought you were gonna go away or something.”

He smirked. “I’d never leave you, bugaboo.”

She frowned. “Then what was that about?”

He shrugged. “You’re this huge part of my life and I guess I realized that I don’t tell you enough how much you mean to me. You’re this unstoppable force who always determined and confident and knows just what to do. You’re the only constant I have in my hectic life and I appreciate you. I just needed you to know I love you, Marinette.”

Her eyes went wide. Her heart stopped. Marinette? She stood up. “You know my civilian name?”

He cursed under his breath. It was such a force of habit, he had forgotten that they weren’t supposed to know each other. “How long have you known?” Adrien sighed and thought about how long it had been since he had gotten there. “A couple weeks.”

Her jaw dropped. “And you didn’t tell me?”

He bit the inside of his mouth. “You were always so adamant about us not knowing each other’s identities…”

She turned away, crossing her arms. “But you knew mine. And you didn’t tell me.”

He clenched his jaw. “It wasn’t that simple.”

She scoffed. “Then tell me. What was it? You thought you could just keep lying to me and acting like everything was fine when you really knew who I was?”\

He stood up to get on her level. “Why does me knowing who you are change anything?”

He said, starting to raise his voice. “Because that was a secret, Chat! It was my secret. It was for our own protection. How did you even find out?”

“I saw you detransform after one of the akuma fights," he said, the only excuse coming to mind.

“Which one? Which akuma?”

He shook his head, knowing that there was no akuma. “I… I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember? How could you forget something like that?”

“Because I was too focused on the fact that it was you! Why does this even matter to you so much?”

“Because this isn’t how it was supposed to happen, Chat! Now we could be in possible danger and you know who I am and I don’t even know who you are!”

“Plagg! Claws Off!” Before she could turn away, she watched as Chat Noir disappeared in green light and was replaced by… Adrien. He’s.... Adrien. Her mouth went agape.

“You… you’ve been… this whole time…”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Hi.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Is that why you suddenly had an interest in me? Because I’m Ladybug?” She let out a dry laugh. “Of course. I’m such an idiot. Why would Adrien Agreste be interested in Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

“How can you even say that? I don’t love you because you’re Ladybug, I love you because you’re you!”

“You barely know me, Adrien!” He took a sharp breath in because she was right, at least in her mind. That Adrien only knew Ladybug. Adrien was a classmate who she’d only really talked to this month. He couldn’t tell her the truth.

“I know there’s nothing I can say that can make this better. I know that you are really mad at me right now. But Marinette, you may think that Ladybug isn’t you, but she is. You have always been Marinette before you were ever Ladybug, and that’s what I loved. The girl behind the mask. You saving the city and shooting down my puns wasn’t what I loved. I loved your compassion and your heart.” She just stared back at him, still clearly upset. “I’m gonna go. Okay? I’ll see you in school,” he paused, wanting to say more, but deciding against it. “Bye.” He went to the elevator. When the doors closed and he couldn’t see her anymore, he sat on the floor, letting himself cry. He’s going to lose her. Again. Except this time it’s worse because she’s still there, she just doesn’t want him anymore. Plagg didn’t say anything as he went to the second elevator and took more time to just sit at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower and cried. He finally got up and began to walk, no destination in mind.

Marinette was speechless. She sat staring out at the lights of Paris and realized what this could have meant. Was he really telling the truth? Did he really feel that way about her? About Marinette? She had to talk to him. Yoyo-ing around the city, she tried to find the blonde haired boy. He stood, staring out into the Seine, his arms resting on the railing separating the river from the land. She jumped down, hid behind a tree and detransformed, and walked over to join him.

“I wasn’t finished talking with you, you know.”'

He didn’t look back to her. He didn’t want her to see him like this. “You seemed like you were.”

She looked at him, trying to find the right thing to say. “Why me?”

He turned to look at her. Seeing his eyes puffy and red broke her heart. “What do you mean?”

“Why would you choose me? There are all of these people who adore you, all of these models you know or these fancy girls that I could never live up to. Why me?”

He smiled softly. “Why wouldn’t I love you? You’re kind to everyone you know even if they don’t quite deserve it. You’re intelligent and you’re talented and you’re passionate about everything you do. You find the great things about life and you amplify them. You spread positivity and you believe in people. You believe in me.”

She looked at his eyes, and she knew those were the eyes of someone who never meant to hurt her. “We should get back to our houses. It’s getting late.” He knew that she wasn’t ready to say anything back to him, and he understood that. As they walked, she had grabbed his hand and rubbed her thumb against his to comfort him. They talked just like that first Saturday he got there. It was calm. It was nice. As they turned to the street before her parent’s bakery. He turned to her.

“Marinette… I just wanted to tell you…” Before he could finish, she cut him off with a kiss. It was electric yet gentle and soft. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hers around his neck. He let himself live in that moment for forever. As she pulled away, she rested his forehead on his.

“I love you,” she said. And in that moment, everything felt perfect. He was finally getting the life he dreamed of. He had her. He had his father. He had his friends. Everything was coming together.

“I lo…”

Then suddenly, things started to move in slow motion. The horn blasting as loud as it could. The blinding lights as the truck began to swerve towards the street corner. The burning in his arms as he picked her up and threw her back, far from where the car was heading as fast as he could. The air being blown out from his lungs from the impact of the truck. His head crashing into the windshield and the glass cracking against his skin. His bones breaking as they slam against the hood of the car. Finally, he felt the final blow as his body crashed against the wall of the bistro standing on the corner while everything went black as his head collided with the ground. And in the moment, he did what he went back to do. He saved her. The only cost of it was his own life and any life they could’ve had together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end everyone! I will probably write an Epilogue, but for now, that's going to be it. I hope you enjoyed. I chose to cut it off abruptly, because his wish wouldn't let him live out his life with Marinette, no matter how much he hoped it could. Fate doesn't work that way. If you want to have a Q & A I would also LOVE to do that! Thank you so much for reading and I really loved writing this.


	13. Epilogue

It wasn’t immediate. Paris didn’t mourn Adrien Agreste immediately. It was sad, the loss of teen boy, young model, but they didn’t know yet. They didn’t know all he had done for them.

When they rushed Adrien and Marinette to the hospital, she was catatonic, unable to comprehend the pain from the bleeding from when her head collided with the sidewalk.

The doctors wouldn’t let her see Adrien for a while. Tears streaming down her face, she would scream as she pleaded to see her partner. Her parents would have to hold her for hours as she cried, blaming herself for this tragedy, saying it should’ve been her. She needed to see Adrien, to make sure he was okay. But, the reason they wouldn’t let her see him is because things weren’t looking up for Adrien.

When it came the time for people to visit, it wasn’t to say hello or bring cards. It was to say goodbye. Gabriel spent most of his time in the hospital with his son, that being his first public appearance in years. Marinette only got to visit Adrien for a short four minutes, before Gabriel came back and demanded she leave, yelling that she was the reason his son was so far gone.

Before Gabriel came back, she slipped Adrien’s ring off of his finger, putting it in her pocket, apologized profusely, and kissed him on the forehead one last time. She didn’t want to let go of that hand she had so little time holding, but she knew security would take her away if she stayed any longer.

Days went by, and then the headlines started to pop up.

“Adrien Agreste: Model and Son of Gabriel Agreste Deceased?”

“Local Teen and Parisian Model Heroically Saves Girl From Car”

She couldn’t read the articles. All they did was chalk him up to be this boy who did ust one heroic deed in his life. A famous model who did a good thing. She couldn’t take it. She got in contact with Alya as soon as she could and said she had something for the Ladyblog, and that it needed to happen immediately.

There she stood, in front of the camera, realizing she hadn’t planned what to say to the livestream. Fighting back more tears, she took a deep breath.

“People of Paris. I have some news that I felt you all deserved. We have lost a hero, Paris. He was always there to support us. He fought for us and he cared so deeply about us. And now, he is gone. Adrien Agreste has passed away, the hero he always was.” Alya furrowed her eyebrows, confused on what she meant. She continued, saying her words slowly and with meaning, “Chat Noir has passed away. The hero he always was.” Alya’s jaw dropped. Ladybug gulped. “Remember Adrien as the young man he was. The savior that we all deserved.” She turned away, and said, choking up. “Okay Alya. Turn it off.”

 

Gabriel Agreste was a broken man. His blonde hair unkempt and disheveled, his usually clean shaved face riddled with stubble, and his eyes with permanent dark circles under them. His lips were getting chapped, his eyes were dry, and his heart longing for his family that he lost. He couldn’t bare the news that his son was the spotlight of. He couldn’t bare to think about what had happened. Nathalie knocked on the door, entering his office.

“Nathalie, I told you not to disturb me.”

She approached him, holding out her tablet. “Sir, you need to see this.”

Gabriel took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He took a minute to himself but eventually turned around. As he read the words off of the glowing screen, he couldn’t seem to find the words to say. Staring at him read:

“Teen Model Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir Confirmed”

Gabriel stood up from his chair and turned to his assistant. “I need to go run an errand.”

That night, the blonde man, disappointed and filled with rage, left the hospital. The ring was gone. His one step closer to the perfect wish had been taken away. He asked himself was it really worth it. Was this a fight that he had the energy to fight anymore?

The answer was no. He didn’t have it in him anymore. What he was doing would never fix anything. His family would never forgive him for the sacrifices he made. He had terrorized his son for years and he hadn’t been the father that he needed. He didn’t deserve to have his family back.

Gabriel gave up on his Hawkmoth agenda. He threw himself into his work for years and went back into isolation, his only human interaction being with Nathalie. Gabriel Agreste faded from the name of fashion and from public eye for the rest of his life.

 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not okay. She spent each day blaming herself for Adrien’s death. She knew if she would’ve just been paying attention, they could both be alive. If she just pulled away moments before, he could still be there. They could be happy together. Deep down she knew that there was truly nothing she could do now, but she kept asking herself the what ifs. It took years to get over it, but unlike Adrien, she did get over it. She moved on as she got older. She left her past in the past. She made a name for herself. She lived without him, something he could never do.

 

In the end, Paris would never know what Adrien did for them. What he did in his timeline. They would never know of the years of terrorism, the final battle, the tragic loss of their hero. They wouldn’t know the story of the corrupted fashion designer, the teen girl who spent her double life saving them, and the poor boy who lost his parents and his girlfriend. They would never know the man he would become and had been. In the end, Adrien Agreste was just a face to a name, a face to a story.

To them, Adrien Agreste had many things. He had a steady occupation at the young age of 15, a job that gave him fame across all of France. He had the best of friends that were always there to support him. He had his Miraculous which he used to save Paris. He had a father who, though busy most of the time, did truly care for him. He was a face of heroism and hope. He was Chat Noir. But none of them truly knew who this Adrien was. They didn’t know all that he did for them. And they never will.


	14. Q & A

I'm still open for more questions if you want!

1\. Does Plagg ever tell Marinette about Adrien being from the future?

I don’t think Plagg ever intended on telling anyone. Maybe Master Fu, but not Marinette. It wasn’t his secret to tell, and I don’t think Marinette would appreciate the added fact that he had been deceiving her even more by being a completely different Adrien. Plagg doesn’t have a filter, but that doesn’t make him insensitive.

2\. What happens to Gabriel? Does he become a sad lonely old man? Does he work through his pain and suffering in a healthy fashion? Does Hawk Moth return badder than ever?

Gabriel is going to be very depresso. I think he throws himself back into his fashion designing and becomes isolated and he snaps a lot at everyone else. Nathalie is there for them, and I feel like Nathalie and him would end up together, but I know a lot of people don’t like how in the show they seem to be getting closer like that. I think Chat Noir is revealed to be his son, and that breaks him down even more, because he had been fighting his son this entire time. Now that the black cat Miraculous is gone, he has no reason to be Hawkmoth again, because it was to save his wife, and he needs both Miraculous. Maybe he goes for a hunt for the Guardian of the Miraculous, but that would be a while after he finishes grieving over the loss of his family. 

3\. What happens to Mari? I doubt she's going to go into a depression like Adrien did. Does she ever move on?

I think Marinette didn’t know Adrien enough for it to hit as hard. She does move on, and she lives a happy life, but when she does stuff like see an old ad of him or see a picture of him in her yearbook, it’ll make her feel down. But she didn’t have the connection with Adrien, like he did with her, so it wouldn’t affect nearly as much. 

4\. Will Chat Noir be replaced? Will his identity of Adrien Agreste be revealed after death like Ladybug's was? Or will it forever remain a mystery because he did not die in costume?

After a while with Hawkmoth not striking again, Ladybug turns in her Miraculous. She turned in Chat’s after he passed away to keep it safe. 

5\. Will Mari and Gabriel help each other work through the gaping hole of grief that Adrien left behind?

I don’t think Marinette and Gabriel would interact much after that. She didn’t have a connection with his father, like they didn’t meet while Adrien and her started being together. I wouldn’t think his first thought to get out of isolation and talk to someone, the teen girl who came to their house three times would be the best choice. They may meet through fashion design, but it would be foolish of her to mention his dead son to her boss.

6\. Does Gabriel ever return the butterfly and peacock miraculous?

I don’t think he ever would, because he wouldn’t know who to turn it back to. It would become a fancy Gabriel Agreste heirloom that probably looked like a fancy broach and only that. 

7\. How do his schoolmates react to the loss of their peer?

Nino would definitely be torn up about the loss of Adrien since they were best friends, but rather than Nino, it was more of them upset about the loss of Chat Noir.


End file.
